People v. Benites

Opinion

BIANCHI, J. *

Introduction

Appellant, James Edward Benites, was arrested with one Robert Dean Stanfill on various charges including receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools, possession of a loaded firearm in public and being an ex-felon owning a concealable firearm. The property was discovered after a routine traffic stop by a Tuolumne County deputy sheriff which revealed that appellant and his passenger both had suspended licenses. The officer decided to impound the van and conducted an inventory search, which resulted in the discovery of a loaded shotgun and other…